Five, Four, Three, Two, One
by wildpeace
Summary: Tike Week, Day 3, 'Fireworks'


"Got mittens?"

"Yes."

"Boots on?"

"Yes."

"Extra sweaters in the bag?"

"Tina, if we put any more layers on them they aren't going to be able to move."

"It's minus five out!"

"Tina." Mike's laughing and grabs her as she hastens past, his hands sliding around her waist, trapping her so her back is pressed against his chest. "They'll be warm enough, I swear."

Taking a deep breath, Tina relaxes into his touch. "Summer's only just got over her cold."

"And she's been napping all evening," Mike reminds her. "We _promised _they could see the fireworks Tee – they're so excited. It's our first New Year's Eve in forever that we can actually leave the apartment and watch them. The girls have promised to go straight to bed when we get home. Come on." Turning her around in his grip, he presses their lips together, squeezing her once before letting go and reaching out for his ski jacket.

Doing up his zipper, he grabs Tina's red coat from the hook and holds it out for her. A smile tickling the corners of her mouth she slides her arms in, allowing him to do up the buttons before tying the sash at her waist. Leaning their foreheads together, she kisses him back, tugging slightly on his lower lip with her teeth as though promising another way they will ring in the New Year later.

Breaking apart, she picks up her bag and slings it over her body before calling through the apartment. "Summer! Raine! Are you ready?"

There's a squeak and giggling and a muffled crash, and then two pairs of booted feet come hammering down the hallway. Tina can tell that Mike tied Summer's hair himself – her braids are crooked but lovingly wound – and Raine's sweater is on back to front. Rolling her eyes, Tina rights the three-year-old's cardigan so the panda faces the front and reaches up for her pink bobble hat, pulling it down over her wispy black hair. Matching mittens are threaded through her puffy down jacket and Tina helps push her hands inside.

"Puddle!" Raine cries with a plaintive wail, jumping in her gumboots and pointing to the living room, where her off-white fluffy duck sits slumped against the mis-matched cushions. She leans back, trying to pull away as Tina does her zip, arms stretching out towards the toy. "Puddle has to come to the party!"

Summer – all of six – stands with sleep shadowed eyes and tugs her own purple toque down over her uneven braids. Running to the couch she grabs the toy and returns to the front door with it solemnly held out. "Here," Summer says, handing it to her sister, who takes the duck with glee and hugs it against her chest.

"Thanks Summy," Raine says seriously, and then holds her duck up towards her parents. "Daddy, Puddle will be cold," she tells him, the small white creature held above her head, his stitched beak orange and smiling.

"Raine…" Mike begins, rubbing the back of his neck as Tina helps Summer with her pea coat, but then Raine's lower lip begins to tremble and he finds himself reaching up to the coat rack. "Here," he gives in, and grabbing a spare scarf he ties it carefully round the duck's neck. "He'll be warm enough now."

Raine studies the duck for a moment with knitted brows, but then throws herself against her father's legs. "Thank you," she murmurs, and it's the honest relief in her voice that makes Mike have to stifle a laugh.

"You're welcome," he replies.

X

The crowds are building the closer it gets to midnight and Tina clutches Summer's gloved hand tight in hers as they make their way along the sidewalk. Raine had started off walking with her hand in Mike's, but had quickly grown tired of the pace and being at everyone else's knee level. Now she rides high on her father's shoulders, his hands clutching tightly at her ankles and Puddle the Duck stuffed under one arm.

"Are we nearly there?" Summer asks, more curious than plaintive, and she stands on tiptoe to try and gain a view over the crowd. "What time is it? Is it the New Year yet? Did we miss it?"

"Not yet," Tina promises, smoothing the little girl's bangs back from her forehead as they find a place to stand amidst the throng. "Trust me baby, you'll know when it comes. We won't miss it."

"We did last year," she reminds her mother with raised eyebrows, free hand buried deep in her pocket. "Remember? Raine and me had the chicken pox and you and Daddy fell asleep on the couch before Uncle Kurt and Uncle Blaine had even called from the big sparkly ball in New York."

Catching Mike's eye over the top of their daughter's head, they share a grin at the memory of perhaps the most pathetic New Years they've ever had. "You're right we did," Tina acknowledges, squeezing Summer's hand. "But we're here now, and I promise we're not going to miss this one."

X

The countdown starts and Raine gets so excited she muddles up some of her numbers, clapping her mittened hands together. Puddle has been relegated to Tina's purse – his head sticking out of the side – "Mommy! Otherwise he won't be able to breathe!" – and she stares at the big illuminated countdown on the side of City Hall.

"Summer Summer! Look! It nearly is new year!" Raine cries at her sister, who looks back up at her with a grin, her hand firmly clutched in her mother's.

"When it gets to zero Ray," Summer reminds her gently.

They count down the last five numbers as a family – "Five, four, three, two, one, zero!" – and when the clock reaches its end the crowd bursts into cheers. "Happy New Year!" Tina tells Summer, leaning down and pressing a kiss against her forehead.

"Happy New Year Mommy," Summer replies with a grin, before they both turn their attention to Mike and Raine. Summer wraps her arms around her father's waist and Tina presses a soft kiss against his lips as they murmur their celebrations to one another, too quietly for the girls to hear.

Summer is about to pass on her own salutation when there is suddenly a crash like a canon and she screams, her hands flying to her ears. Startled, she flings herself at her mother, burying her face in her coat. "Mommy!" she cries, afraid, but the feel of Tina's fingers through her hair makes Summer prise her hands away, just a fraction.

The noise is still crashing but when she peeks through her eyelashes she can see Raine grinning on her father's shoulders. "Look Summy!" she calls down from her elevated position, pointing upwards. "Rainbows!"

Tilting her chin up – made braver by the feel of mother's arms around her – Summer finally dares a look in the sky. Following a loud crack and an ear-piercing whistle that makes her cringe, something magical happens. The evil little noisy ball seems to break into a million pieces of light, and they all glimmer and sparkle and turn bright pink as they paint the night.

"Fireworks Sum," Tina assures her, turning her in her grasp so Summer faces the open sky, but keeping her hands laced over her chest, protected and secure. "They're loud, I know, but they're beautiful."

Even though Summer keeps her mittened hands over her ears, she watches every firework as it streaks across the sky, exploding in a shower of colour. Raine keeps up a running commentary of oohs and ahhs and a conversation mostly with herself and Mike grins as he holds onto her denim-clad knees and Tina leans into his side.

Catching each other's eye, Mike and Tina share a proud, tacit, 'look what we made' moment, and though Mike won't say it out loud, he secretly thinks it's more amazing than anything that's going on above them.

X

When they get back to the apartment it's after one. Raine is sound asleep over Mike's shoulder and Summer's barely walking, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand and whimpering every so often with exhaustion. Mike and Tina strip off their outer layers of clothes and bundle the two girls into pyjamas, and even without bedtime stories or cups of water their daughters fall into bed without a fuss. When Tina checks on them, Summer's using her camel Arnold as a pillow on the top bunk and Raine has already kicked her blankets to the foot of the bed, Puddle dropped to the floor. Tucking her in _again, _Tina presses kisses to both their heads before shutting the door quietly behind.

When she enters her own bedroom it's to find her husband – her best friend of almost too many years to count – laying buck naked in the middle of the bed, two glasses of champagne in his hands.

Breaking into laughter, Tina covers her mouth with her hand. "How did you know I wouldn't have Raine with me?" she asks, accepting one of the drinks from him, sipping the fizzy amber liquid as he undoes the buttons on her jeans, tugging her towards him with his fingers in her belt loops.

"Please, she's been asleep since we got in the door," he counters with a grin, dancing his fingers across her pale stomach. "Besides, don't we get to celebrate the New Year too?"

"Fireworks wasn't celebrating?" she asks, almost arguing as he liberates her drink from her hand – she only just took a sip! – but then he's reaching for her sweater, pulling it up and over her head and tossing it aside. Her jeans slide down her hips, pooling at her ankles, and even though her underwear is mismatched and she's still wearing woollen socks, Mike looks at her like she's the most beautiful thing on the planet.

"Baby _you're _a firework," he teases, arms sliding around her waist and lips going to her neck, and it's so cheesy and silly that they both start laughing. He tries to muffle the sound against her skin but she has to raise a hand to cover her mouth, chuckles stifled behind her fingers, her shoulder shaking and causing her breasts to bounce.

"Shhh," she manages, choking on her giggles. "If you wake the girls up you're in big trouble." Then grinning, she links her hands behind his neck, resting her forehead against his. "Mr Chang, it's a whole new year - you want to help me see rockets and shooting stars?"

Hands sliding up the sides of her ribs, his thumb sweeps across her skin and he plants his lips against hers. "How on earth could I refuse that?"

X


End file.
